Community/Retail

The FDA has approved the first pathogen reduction system for the preparation of plasma by blood establishments.

Pacific Northwest grocery chain Haggen today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 146 stores. With this acquisition, which remains subject to FTC approval, Haggen will expand from 18 stores with 16 pharmacies to 164 stores with 106 pharmacies; from 2,000 employees to more than 10,000 employees.

A new FDA approval may soon help children with allergies seek relief from nasal symptoms.

Patients turn to garlic supplements for a number of conditions, one of the most popular being the common cold. The basis for such action is the supposed antimicrobial and antiviral properties of the medicinal plant.

Pharmacists tied medical doctors for second place in Gallup's latest honesty and ethics poll.

The CVS Health Research Institute today released a first look at the comparative utilization of two new hepatitis C treatments in the weeks following their respective launches. The analysis shows an increase in the number of eligible hepatitis C patients being treated following the October launch of Harvoni®, the newest hepatitis C treatment.

French maritime pine bark extract (Pycnogenol) is an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-edema natural compound that is available in many stores as an OTC product.

A rapid syphilis screening test will now be available in a greater number of health care settings.

Bayer HealthCare and Cardinal Health today announced the signing of a 15-year agreement for the contract manufacturing of Xofigo (radium Ra 223 dichloride). As part of the agreement, Cardinal Health will build a state-of-the art, 64,000 square foot facility in Indianapolis, which will be dedicated exclusively to the manufacturing of Xofigo. Product manufactured at this facility will primarily be distributed in the United States and Canada.

A new study from researchers in Japan has identified features that appear to be responsible for bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics.

The American Pharmacists Association reminds the 250 million people who visit the pharmacy each week to utilize your relationship with your neighborhood pharmacist to meet your health care and information needs during the cold and flu season.

Priced at approximately $178,000 for 2 courses of treatment, Blincyto will be one of the most expensive cancer medications on the market.

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association will offer ten stories featuring the top advances in heart disease and stroke research in 2014.

Struggling to balance on one leg for 20 seconds or longer was linked to an increased risk for small blood vessel damage in the brain and reduced cognitive function in otherwise healthy people with no clinical symptoms, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke.

GPhA applauds the new findings of the Senate Special Committee on Aging and welcomes further conversation on increasing generic drug utilization in government programs, particularly Medicare Part D.

The majority of patients who require inhalers for asthma or epinephrine autoinjectors for allergic disease for do not use the devices properly.

A cheery vintage advertisement depicting kids playing in a yard promotes "cocaine toothache drops" sold at an Albany, New York, pharmacy in March 1885.

Gallup released its annual Honesty and Integrity Survey today, and pharmacists maintained their ranking in the second position - behind only nurses and tied with medical doctors.

The National Community Pharmacists Association issued the following statement today from President John T. Sherrer, RPh in response to the 2014 Gallup survey "U.S. Views on Honesty and Ethical Standards in Professions":

Pharmacists really do have great profession, and here are 10 reasons why.

Ashley Huntsberry and Joselyn Benabe from the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences competed against a record number of participants to win the 19th annual ASHP National Clinical Skills Competition SM, held December 7, 2014, during the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting in Anaheim, CA.

The Generic Pharmaceutical Association welcomes the FDA's proposed rule to amend its prescription drug and biological product labeling regulations to require electronic distribution of the prescribing information intended for healthcare professionals.

The Generic Pharmaceutical Association has serious concerns about the unbalanced structure of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement in its current form.

The FDA today approved finafloxacin otic suspension (Xtoro), a new drug used to treat acute otitis externa.

Since 2007, the pharmaceutical industry, several professional societies, and the FDA have collaborated on initiatives designed to limit the use of OTC cough and cold medications in young children.

Extroverted workers should keep an eye out for introverts in the workplace.

Avella Specialty Pharmacy announced today that Dr. Eric Sredzinski, Pharm.D. is among a team of researchers that received the 2014 Pharmacy Practice Research Award from the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists Research and Education Foundation.

Long-term infections with other pathogens have been suspected as the cause of mental impairment in patients with HIV. However, new research suggests that this might not be the case.

Cardinal Health is seeking stories of innovative, inspirational, passionate medical laboratory professionals in the second year of its urEssential award program, an award program to recognize medical laboratory professionals and their contributions to the field of health care.